Mail-marking machine



(No Model.)

J. S. HANSEN. MAIL MARKING MACHINE.

Patented Deo. 22, 1896.

m x A INVENTUR:

muy

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. HANSEN, OF MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN POSTAL MACHINES COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

MAIL-MARKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,652, dated December 22, 1896.

Application led January 14, 1896. Serial No. 575,422. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. HANSEN, of Medford, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Marking Machines, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to machines for canceling stamps on mail-matter and postmarking the same, and particularly to machines into which pieces of mail-matter, hereinafter designated as letters, are fed singly to a continuously-moving band which runs between an impression-cylinder and a printing-cylinder, the former supporting each moving letter while it is receiving an impression from the die or dies of the printing-cylinder.

In machines of this class some provision is necessary to keep the band which runs continuously between the impression and printing cylinders from coming in contact with the inked dies of the continuously-rotating printing-cylinder when there is no letter interposed between the band and the printingcylinder, in order that the band may be kept free from ink. I have heretofore accomplished this result by making the impressioncylinder laterally movable and providing mechanism for holding the said cylinder and the band awayfrom the axis of the printingcylinder when there is no letter in position to be printed.

My present invention has for its object to accomplish the same result without a lateral movement of the impression-cylinder and to this end my invention consists in the improvements hereinafter described, whereby the portion of the impression-cylinder that supports the band and letter during the impression is held stationary until a letter comes between the band and printing-cylinder, and is then made operative, as I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of parts of a mail-marking machineembodyingmyinvention. Fig.2 represents a section on line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig.

3 represents a perspective View of the operative portion or section of the improved cylinder. Fig. l, showing the impression-cylinder in a different position. Figs. 5, 6, and? represent views of detached parts shown in dotted lines in Fig. l.

The same letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a designates the hopper, into which the pieces of mail-matter are deposited, one by one, by the operator and along and out of which they are carried by a sectional ledgeb on a continuously-moving band c, the latter being supported at one end by an idler (not shown) and at the other end by the impression-cylinder e. The impressioncylinder e is affixed to a shaft e', which just below the cylinder is embraced by a bearing e2, which is preferably provided with a yielding movement suificient to compensate for variations in the thickness of the letters to be marked, said bearing being here shown as mounted in a lever e3, which is pivoted at e6 tothe fixed frame of the machine and is provided with an adjustable stop e7, which is held by a spring e4 against a Xed bearing e8 on the frame, said spring and lever permitting the impression-cylinder to yield from the printing-cylinder, as hereinafter described, as required by the thickness of a letter passing between the band and the printing-cylinderf. The printing-cylinder is aflixed to a shaft which is journaled in xed bearings and is geared to the shaft of the impression-cylinder, the two shafts being positively rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. l.

The printing-cylinderis provided with suitable dies, which are brought intermittently into printing position by the rotation of the Said cylinder.

The impression-cylinder comprises a positively-rotated section or carrier, here shown as composed of two cylindrical sections affixed to the shaft e', and an intermediate segmental section 3, which is loose upon the said shaft. The loose section 3 has a greater radius than the fixed sect-ions 2 2, the relative radial proportions of the sections being such that when the loose section 3 is not in position to support the band c the latter is well separated Fig. 4 represents a view similar to IOO from the printingcylinder, as shown in Fig.

l, and when the loose section is in its bandsupporting position the band is in position to press a letter against the printing-cylinder, as shown in Fig. 4. The loose section 3 is normally held in its inoperative position (shown in Fig. l) by means of a detent t, secured to a pivot "i2, which is journaled in a fixed bearing on the frame. Said detent is normally held by a spring 'i4 in the path of a shoulder 4 on the loose segment 3 and has an arm z", which stands in the path of a letter propelled by the band c and presents an elongated surface extending substantially parallel with the path of the letter and adapted to bear against the back of the letter.

The arm z" of the detent is curvedto slightly deflect an approaching letter and thereby engage its forward end with a stop-finger j. Said arm t" is recessed at j for the reception of said stop-tingerj, which is formed on the end of an arm jg, the latter being pivoted at j; to the machine-frame and pressed inwardly by a spring ji. An approaching letter is deflected by the detent-arm fr" against the stopiingerj, and remains there until freed by a positively-acting agent of the following description: A lever k of angular form is pivoted at 7c3 to the printing-cylinder and has at one end a forked clamping-foot 7d, which byan outward movement of said lever maybe projected beyond the periphery of the printing cylinder. Said clamping foot is formed to move over and bestride the stopfinger j and press a letter which may be detained thereby away from said' finger and against the detent -arm c" and the carryingband, the arm i being thus displaced and the detenti thrown out of the path of the shoulder 4, the loose section 3 being thus released, so that it is caused to rotate by its frictional contact with the band c and with the sections 2 2 of the impression-cylinder, the section 3 being thus caused to press the band toward the printing-cylinder, as shown in Fig. 4. The continued rotation of the printing-cylinder causes the clamping-foot to continue to press and hold the letter against the moving band c, said foot and band carrying the letter forward between the printing-cylinder and the band c.

The foot 7s' is thrown outwardly to engage an approaching letter by means of a cam n, aliixed to a cap-piece aixed to the frame of the machine, and a lever m, pivoted at 71:3 to the printing-cylinder and provided at one end with a roll m2, which is held in contact with said cam by a spring n3. A set-screw m on the lever L is arranged to bear on the lever m and is drawn toward said lever by a spring m3, connecting the two levers, said spring permitting the fork k and lever t to conform to the thickness of the letter interposed between said foot and the band c, the setscrew bearing against the lever m when the foot is not in contact with a letter. The cam n is fastened to a cap-piece n', affixed to the frame of the maf chine and extending over the printing-cylinder, .whose shaft has a bearing in said cam.

The operation is follows: When the roll m2 is on the high part of the cam In, the foot k is projected and pushes the waiting letter away from the stop-finger j' and against the carrying-band and the detent-arm i', thereby displacing said arm and throwing the detent z' out of the path of the shoulder 4 on the loose section 2, thus permitting said section to operatively support the band. The letter, now being clamped between the foot k andthe band c, is carried between the band and the printing-cylinder and marked by the dies of the latter. Then the section 2 has passed the impression-roll, the band recedes against the sections 2 2, and the detent 1,' springs in front of the shoulder 4 and arrests the section 3. lVhen no letter passes between theprintingcylinder and the band, the detent i remains in its operative position and prevents the section 3 from supporting the band, as shown in Fig. l. The dies are thus prevented from inking the band.

I do not limit myself t0 the described details of mechanism for locking and releasing the loose section 3 and may employ any other suitable mechanism for this purpose.

My invention is not confined to an impression-cylinder composed of two positively-rotated sections 2 2 at opposite sides of the frictionally-rotated loose section, as the latter may be used with only one of the sections 2, although not so advantageously as with both.

I claiml. In a machine of the character specified, an impression-cylinder comprising a positively-rotated section or carrier, a loose segmental section having a greater radius than the said carrier and in frictional contact therewith and a band passing around said sections.

2. In a machine of the character specified, an impression-cylinder comprising a positively-rotated section or carrier, and a loose segmental section having a greater radius than the carrier, and an endless band passing around said sections combined with means for normally arresting said loose section, and a letter-controlled mechanism for displacing said detent.

3. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of an impression-cylinder comprising a positively-rotated section and a loose section of greater radius in frictional contact therewith, a letter-carrying band on said cylinder, a printing-cylinder .journaled in fixed bearings, and means for normally engaging said loose section and holding it in its inoperative position.

4. In a machine of the character specified, the combination of an impression-cylinder comprising' a positively-rotated section and a loose section of greater radius in frictional contact therewith, a letter-carrying band on said cylinder, a printing-cylinder journaled in fixed bearings, an arresting means for normally engaging said loose section and holding IOO IIO

of a letter, a letter-clamp mounted on the printing-cylinder and arranged to precede the printing-dies on said cylinder, and means for alternately projecting and releasing the clamp7 the said cla-mp acting through an interposed letter to displace the detent and press the letter against the band. p

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 28th day of December, A. D. 1895.

JOHN S. HANSEN.

Vitnesses:

A. D. HARRISON, A. D. ADAMS. 

